27 March 2008

An Evening with Phillip Johnson

Last night I attended a presentation called (you guessed it) "An Evening With Phillip Johnson." If you're thinking who is Phillip Johnson, then you should know that he is basically the guy who started the Intelligent Design movement and has been one of Darwinism's fiercest critics. He's also a guy that naturalists (Darwinists) hate because he's not an easy-to-make-fun-of fundamentalist; he's not even a young-earth creationist. In fact, he doesn't even like to be called anything with an -ist at the end. If you're into the literature surrounding the debate, then you will be familiar with his most famous book, Darwin on Trial.

Mr. Johnson, born in 1940, has had at least two strokes in recent years, making walking quite difficult and somewhat slowing his speech. He is still quite sharp, however, and once he got going on a topic, the words flowed quite smoothly.

I arrived a bit early at CCU (where the event was held), and I happened to walk in right behind Johnson and his wife. I introduced myself as he and Jack Cottrell (the interviewer) were meeting. We spoke briefly about Cincinnati in general and the seminary in particular. I must say that Phillip Johnson is a real gentleman. He shows respect for evolutionists and creationists (he made mention of Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis, located just across the river in Petersburg, KY), and he speaks very gently but clearly regarding the fallacies committed by evolutionists.

All in all, the information given was not really anything I haven't heard or read before. It was nice, however, to meet him in person and to experience an event like this while Johnson is still willing and able to travel and speak.

No comments:

Why Have Another Think?

This blog exists to shamelessly flaunt my thoughts and feelings about a variety of topics: Evangelical Christianity, the American Church, Contemporary Christian Music, Philosophy, Ethics, Culture, and whatever else I so choose.